The less interesting of the two lines, is the fact that Prejean's inappropriate photos were readily Google-able (no euphemism intended).  From multiple sources.  Yet in the case of another photographic scandal involving a Christian - in fact a Catholic priest - the photos are nowhere to be found.  Father Alberto Cutie in Florida has allegedly been photographed in compromising positions with a woman in a variety of locales.  Yet when I Googled for those photos, I couldn't find them.  Not even from the publication that aired the photos originally.

I find this an interesting juxtaposition, but I'm not sure what to make of it just yet.  I'll happily entertain conspiracy theories in the Comments!

The more personally interesting line of thought was regarding the appropriateness of my having Googled for the Prejean photo, or frankly, for the Father Cutie photos.  After all, the publicity said that Prejean's photos were semi-nude, and that Father Cutie's photos were compromising.  Isn't it enough to accept those accounts without having to see the evidence for myself?   Does my Christian desire to avoid sin outweigh my desire to be intellectually honest and informed about what I choose to talk about?

I guess it all depends.

I have a lifelong fascination with history, and one of the lasting things I learned from my AP History course in High School (and from an undergraduate degree in History and some Masters work in History) is the importance of primary source documents to the historian. It's always best to get your data firsthand, instead of trusting someone else's account of things.  My smattering of journalistic experience  further ingrains this idea.  Don't just assume that what someone else is telling you is the truth.  Everyone has a bias.  Some are conscious.  Some are subconscious.  Agendas are the same way.   Finally, my faith is one of constant inquiry, constant weighing and testing and seeking to better understand for myself what 2000 years of Christians have attested to.  

So I have plenty of reasons to support why I shouldn't just take someone else's word about something.  But when the issue in question is an inappropriate photo of a stunning young woman, am I simply making excuses for myself?  Gary expressed himself in a joking way, but all humor has a barb of truth in it somewhere, and I felt that barb pretty keenly, and my first instinct was to get defensive.

I'm a typical guy.  I find some women to be very attractive, and being visually oriented, the act of looking can be a dangerous temptation to lust.  As Jesus pointed out, lust can begin without a single touch, and it can exist even when no expression of that desire is ever acted on.   And as a sinful human male, the issue of lust has been one that I've struggled with.

At the same time, I live in the forgiveness given to me through the grace of God, because of the sacrifice of His Son, Jesus Christ.  All of my copious sins are forgiven.  Short of denying Jesus Christ, there's nothing that I can do right now or tomorrow or ten years from now which is not already forgiven me as well.  On the other hand, out of gratitude that God has removed the punishment for my sinfulness, I seek to live a life that is more and more free from sinfulness.  

Jesus understands clearly that it's the heart that matters in evaluating sinfulness, not just the action.  He had some pretty harsh words for some pretty upstanding guys (Pharisees) that lived a very pure life on the outside, but were devoid of the love on the inside that ought to motivate such obedience.  You can do the right things for the wrong reasons.  Christianity is not simply a matter of do this or don't do that.  Yet it's amazing how legalistic I can be (as can many Christians) at times, and yet also frightening how anti-legalistic, even anti-nomian I can become (as can many Christians) when it seems desirable to do so.  

I appreciate that Gary called me to be careful (whether or not that's what he intended with his comment or not).  It was a good prompt to reexamine myself and make sure that I'm not sliding into dangerous territory.  Having some experience with lust, I know that my desire to view Prejean's photos, as well as Father Cutie's, was not generated by lustfulness.  Nor was lust the effect of viewing the images.  But it's good to constantly be asking those sorts of questions to be constantly analyzing my answers to myself to try and figure out when I'm trying to pull a fast one on me.